AL East Infield Rankings 2018: Baltimore Orioles Battle Red Sox, Jays for Top Spot
By Nate Wardle
3. Toronto Blue Jays
Infielders: Russell Martin (C), Justin Smoak (1B), Devon Travis (2B), Josh Donaldson (3B), Troy Tulowitzki* (SS), Kendrys Morales (DH), Aledmys Diaz, Yangervis Solarte, Danny Espinosa, Gift Ngoepe, Luke Maile, Reese McGuire, Lourdes Gurriel Jr., Richard Urena
A very solid list of players, but the question marks also helped put the Jays third on the list.
Troy Tulowitzki cannot stay healthy and already may not play until the end of April due to a heel injury. In addition, he hit .249/.300/.378 in 2017, a far cry from his .290/.361/.495 career numbers. Tulo only played in 66 games in 2017, and expecting him to play 100 or more is highly unlikely.
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Smoak, meanwhile, is coming off a career year where he hit nearly 40 points over his career average (.270 to .232). He added 38 home runs and was an All-Star for the first time in his career.
Is this a one year blip, or is Smoak a late bloomer who has figured it out at the plate?
Then there is Devon Travis, who has never played over 101 games in the major leagues. In 2017, he only played in 50 games. He also struggled to start in 2017, hitting .130 in March and April. He was on fire in May, hitting 16 doubles in one month before suffering his season-ending injury.
Martin is a solid catcher and has had a good career.
But, at 35 he is on the downside of his career. He only hit .221 last season, and his defense was not good either.
Now, Donaldson is one of the top players in the game, and in a contract year, could be primed for a big season, despite some rumors about discontent in Toronto with he and his manager.
Diaz will probably see a lot of time between shortstop and second baseman, and it will be interesting to see if he can build on his work from last year for the St. Louis Cardinals.